Sailor Young
Encyclopedia
Harding Isaac "Sailor" Young (February 5, 1876, Leyton
, Essex
– December 12, 1964, Rochford
, Essex
) was a cricketer
who played for Essex
and England
.
Young was a left-arm medium-pace bowler and a capable lower-order batsman. His bowling achieved considerable turn off the wicket, and was described in Wisden
as having "a deceptive curl". Young's cricketing successes in minor matches led Essex to buy him out of the Royal Navy. He played a few games in 1898, but came to prominence early the following year, when he took eleven wickets for 74 runs against a powerful Australian touring side
and gave Essex a surprising victory by 126 runs. The Times
, describing his bowling in the second innings when he took seven for 32, said "Young's bowling could not be played", that he "came off the pitch at a great pace" and "turned six inches with his arm".. He continued to bowl so well in a very dry summer of prolific run scoring that by July he was regarded by some as "the best hard wicket bowler at England's disposal".
Sailor Young was picked for two Test matches
that season against the and took six wickets in each of them, finishing at the top of the England averages. However, as a result of him losing form somewhat after bowling the Players to victory at The Oval, Sailor Young was discarded for the last match of the series and never played Test cricket again. He still took 139 wickets for the year, making him the sixth highets wicket-taker.
Young's success in 1899 led to great expectations for him, but after an excellent performance for the MCC
against Yorkshire
early in the year "Sailor" surprisingly fell off to such an extent that for Essex in county matches he took only forty-three wickets as against eighty-nine. After improving a little in 1901 and doing an impressive performance on a soft pitch against Kent
early in 1902 "Sailor" nevertheless fell off completely. By 1903 his wicket tally was down to just 52 and after that season he dropped out of regular cricket because of severe rheumatism
in his muscle
s. Sailor Young continued to play a few matches for Essex and as a member of the MCC ground staff right up to 1912, but could never undertake anything more than very short bowling spells. In 1910-11 he was a member of the MCC team that toured the West Indies.
From 1921 to 1931, Young was a first-class umpire and he officiated in two Test matches in 1924 and 1926.
Leyton
Leyton is an area of north-east London and part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, located north east of Charing Cross. It borders Walthamstow and Leytonstone; Stratford in Newham; and Homerton and Lower Clapton in the London Borough of Hackney....
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
– December 12, 1964, Rochford
Rochford
Rochford is a small town in the Rochford district of Essex in the East of England. It is sited about 43 miles from Central London and approximately 21 miles from the Essex county town, Chelmsford...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
) was a cricketer
Cricketer
A cricketer is a person who plays the sport of cricket. Official and long-established cricket publications prefer the traditional word "cricketer" over the rarely used term "cricket player"....
who played for Essex
Essex County Cricket Club
Essex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Essex. Its limited overs team is called the Essex Eagles, their team colours this season are blue.The club plays most of its home games...
and England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
.
Young was a left-arm medium-pace bowler and a capable lower-order batsman. His bowling achieved considerable turn off the wicket, and was described in Wisden
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom...
as having "a deceptive curl". Young's cricketing successes in minor matches led Essex to buy him out of the Royal Navy. He played a few games in 1898, but came to prominence early the following year, when he took eleven wickets for 74 runs against a powerful Australian touring side
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
and gave Essex a surprising victory by 126 runs. The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, describing his bowling in the second innings when he took seven for 32, said "Young's bowling could not be played", that he "came off the pitch at a great pace" and "turned six inches with his arm".. He continued to bowl so well in a very dry summer of prolific run scoring that by July he was regarded by some as "the best hard wicket bowler at England's disposal".
Sailor Young was picked for two Test matches
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
that season against the and took six wickets in each of them, finishing at the top of the England averages. However, as a result of him losing form somewhat after bowling the Players to victory at The Oval, Sailor Young was discarded for the last match of the series and never played Test cricket again. He still took 139 wickets for the year, making him the sixth highets wicket-taker.
Young's success in 1899 led to great expectations for him, but after an excellent performance for the MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
against Yorkshire
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
early in the year "Sailor" surprisingly fell off to such an extent that for Essex in county matches he took only forty-three wickets as against eighty-nine. After improving a little in 1901 and doing an impressive performance on a soft pitch against Kent
Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of Kent...
early in 1902 "Sailor" nevertheless fell off completely. By 1903 his wicket tally was down to just 52 and after that season he dropped out of regular cricket because of severe rheumatism
Rheumatism
Rheumatism or rheumatic disorder is a non-specific term for medical problems affecting the joints and connective tissue. The study of, and therapeutic interventions in, such disorders is called rheumatology.-Terminology:...
in his muscle
Muscle
Muscle is a contractile tissue of animals and is derived from the mesodermal layer of embryonic germ cells. Muscle cells contain contractile filaments that move past each other and change the size of the cell. They are classified as skeletal, cardiac, or smooth muscles. Their function is to...
s. Sailor Young continued to play a few matches for Essex and as a member of the MCC ground staff right up to 1912, but could never undertake anything more than very short bowling spells. In 1910-11 he was a member of the MCC team that toured the West Indies.
From 1921 to 1931, Young was a first-class umpire and he officiated in two Test matches in 1924 and 1926.